Page 9 of Crash

My chance to live a thousand lives much better than my own.

Reading is something I enjoy doing when I’m not painting. It’s rare, but every now and then, I get a hunch to throw the paint brushes aside and grab a romance novel.

EASTON

“I’ll trade you bets,” Todd says, watching Jasmine walk to her car. “You can have Jennifer. I’d take Jasmine over her any day.” He sighs like a lovesick puppy.

Yeah, not going to happen.

“You can have your chance with her after I’m done.” I smirk and we fist bump before heading to practice.

We come into the locker room and all the guys are chatting as I strip out of my clothes and put on my football pads. “Who here has finished their bets?” Mark asks as six guys including himself raise their hands. “That’s what I’m talking about!” he roars. My best friend, Mark, is a tool. He plays women like it’s a national sport and he's going for the gold.

I shake my head as I lace up my cleats.

Practice goes well. Josh, our quarterback, has a killer arm. He’s an all-American type of football star. I am a good ball player. Nothing like Nixon, though. I don’t want a career or anything out of this. It’s just an outlet for me. A hobby. Plus, it gets me hella girls.

When I get home, I throw my bag to the floor, get in my gaming chair, and light up a joint. Video games, on the other hand? That is my life. It is my secret nerd trait. I mean, video games are cool, but I am a full-on geek about it. I have my own squad and compete in tournaments.

My door bursts open, and I don’t pull my eyes from the screen. “What?” I snap. Ezra walks to my Xbox. “Don’t you fucking dare,” I growl. She smirks. “Ezra.” It’s a warning. Little shit has a habit of unplugging my console.

“We need to talk, big bro.”

“So fucking talk.” I smash the buttons, shooting my opponents. Cursing when I’m blindsided and shot from behind.

“Jasmine. You need to put a stop to your friends’ sexual harassment.”

I laugh. “Not my fucking problem.”

Ezra trails her hand by the cords. I stiffen. I am three kills away from unlocking a new gun. Fuck. “Not your problem? She’s one of us. Anything that happens to one of us is your problem. You’re the team leader. I’m not sure why you were given the honor, but nonetheless, it’s your problem.”

I sigh. “She did it to herself.”

“Would you say that if boys were feeling me up against my will? Bullying me until I ran from school?”

My gut churns. I’d kill anyone for touching my sister. All genders can get it. I stay quiet, not wanting to answer her question. “That’s what I thought. So, help her.” Ezra is losing her cool. She has a slight tic in her left eye. And her eyes have that shift my mom’s does, where they turn from icy blue to stormy gray, a tad bit manic-looking.

“No. I’m not going to help Snitch.” Ezra sighs, walking over to my Xbox, pulling the electric cord right as I make my final kill.

“God fucking damn it, Ezra!” I roar, ripping off my headphones and throwing my controller.

“You know what your problem is, East? You can’t decide how you feel about her, so you treat her like crap!” she screams, throwing a clawed nail in my direction.

The laugh that spills from my lips is dark and full of promise. “Oh, I know exactly how I feel about Jasmine. I hate her. It’s really that simple. There is no confusion there.”

She frowns, a mock sadness on her face at my expense. “You’re dense, East. So fucking dense. I’ll enjoy your downfall.”

I light another joint, sending her a sinister smile. “You know, if you put half the effort as you do into pissing me off into your actual life, you would have some friends, a boyfriend, maybe even a normal fucking mind.”

She pulls her knife out of her holder on her leg. I raise an eyebrow in challenge. She sends the knife flying through the air and it lands a millimeter from my ear. If she wanted it to hit me, it would have. “Fuck you, Easton. You’re always going to be a miserable prick that people take advantage of and use because of our last name. At least I know I don’t have friends because I choose not to. You,” she laughs darkly. “You have to have people to boost your ego because deep down, you know you’re nothing but rotting flesh.” She turns on herboots, storming out.

I inhale my joint, shaking off her words.

Fuck Jasmine, and fuck Ezra, too.

CHAPTER 6

JASMINE

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